Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys have a history of drafting and developing impact players at the traditional linebacker position. Sean Lee, Bradie James, Dexter Coakley, Ken Norton Jr., Leighton Vander Esch, and Jaylon Smith, although in a small sample size, had their time in the spotlight, each making a Pro Bowl.

After selecting Vander Esch in the first round back in 2018, the front office has selected six linebackers in the following drafts. Jabril Cox (4th round) and Devin Harper (7th round) are no longer on the team and Micah Parsons has transitioned from being a traditional linebacker in college to an All-Pro defensive end. That leaves just Damone Clark, DeMarvion Overshown, and Marist Liufau—all three players could be in line to start against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

On Friday’s injury report, it was announced that veteran middle linebacker Eric Kendricks would be out of Sunday’s matchup with a shoulder injury. A backup linebacker, Nick Vigil. who signed with Dallas in August, is also questionable for Sunday after not practicing this week. If both veteran players can’t go, the focus shifts to the Cowboys young linebackers.

Overshown flashed in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, and after a few tough games against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, the former third-round pick seemed to regain confidence in Weeks 4 and 5. Overshown is second on the team in tackles with 37 and is coming off a week against the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he played 100 percent of the snaps on defense for the first time all season.

This offseason, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has praised Liufau for his work ethic and how quickly he picked up the defense. As a result, it has earned him more time on the field, probably way more than fans may have expected to start his rookie campaign.

Clark had a standout performance in training camp and seemed to be turning the corner in his career, but has not been on defense for more than five snaps in two weeks. If Vigil is out for Sunday, that could open the door for Clark to show he deserves to be a part of the main rotation.

The Lions aren’t a team anyone in the NFL should feel confident going against if their linebacker corps is filled with inexperience, especially Detroit’s ability to run the football. The Lions rush for an average of 151.3 yards per game (7th) led by David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

They also have a team rushing success rate of 50.4 percent (fourth best), which means Detroit’s offense generates positive EPA on half of its attempts on the ground. For context, the Cowboys’ success rate running the football is 39.7 percent.

The Cowboys should know how good the tandem of Gibbs and Montgomery can be after playing the Lions at the end of last season when they combined for 108 yards and a touchdown. Gibbs and Montgomery are in the Top 20 rushing leaders this season and are averaging 5.3 and 4.3 yards per carry, respectively.

Dallas started the season struggling to stop the run, but in back-to-back weeks, it found a way to slow the bleeding and allowed just 92 rushing yards to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ run-heavy approach, which was sixth best for Week 5. Overshown commented on this new-found ability to contain the run.

“Practice-wise, being more sound and disciplined with all our techniques and all our play calls, not just seeing something, not fitting it right and skipping over. Actually paying attention to the detail, everybody doing their one-eleventh… I feel like it’s just been coming to life these last two weeks.”

There is no doubt the Cowboys have a daunting task ahead of them when they face the Lions’ rushing attack. Making sure everyone pays attention to the small details, as Overshown put it, could be the difference in winning the matchup.

If the core of Overshown, Liufau, and Clark are able to cage the Lions on offense, then the front office could feel confident they have added to their history of success at drafting linebackers, and the future at the position looks a lot brighter.